Esther Jacobs, who grew up in Fife and now lives in South Africa, is calling on people across Scotland to sign up to the DKMS UK stem cell donor register. Her 13-year-old daughter, Alba Overbeeke, is battling relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and urgently needs a stem cell transplant.
Alba was first diagnosed with childhood cancer and had been in complete remission for a year when she began experiencing knee pain after karate lessons. Doctors initially thought it was ligament damage, but further tests revealed the leukaemia had returned. Now, her medical team has told the family that a stem cell transplant offers the best chance of recovery.
For patients with blood cancers and disorders, a transplant from a matching donor can be the only route to survival. However, only one in three people find a suitable match within their family. Sadly, none of Alba's relatives are a match, so her hope rests on finding a donor among strangers who have joined the register.
Urgent Appeal for Donors
Esther said: “For many people, stem cell donation feels like something that happens to someone else, until it doesn’t. I grew up in Scotland, and most of my family still lives there, so I know how generous Scots are. It doesn’t get more extraordinary than giving someone the gift of life.”
She stressed that joining the register could help thousands of families. Around 2,000 people in the UK are searching for a stem cell donor at any given time. “Every person who joins the register could one day become the match for someone’s son, daughter, mum, dad, brother or sister. Whether that patient is in Scotland, South Africa or anywhere else in the world doesn’t matter. The register saves lives across borders,” she added.
How to Join the Register
In the UK, anyone aged 16 to 55 and in generally good health can join the stem cell donor register, but only around seven per cent of eligible people have signed up. Potential donors can request a free registration kit from DKMS UK, complete a few health questions, provide simple cheek swabs at home, and return the kit by post.
DKMS spokesperson Bronagh Hughes said: “For patients like Alba, the right stranger joining the stem cell donor register could give them a second chance at life. The process is very simple. Joining the register only requires answering a few questions and completing a few painless mouth swabs. It takes 10 minutes of your time, but you could be the match Alba - or someone else like her - is waiting for.”
Esther added: “The hope I have to keep holding onto is that somewhere in the world, there may already be someone who could save my daughter’s life… they just don’t know they’re needed yet. It costs nothing and only takes a few minutes. But for someone waiting for a stem cell transplant, it could mean everything.”
